


Research Duty

by FandomLife54



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Cussing, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Manipulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-23 14:19:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3771418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomLife54/pseuds/FandomLife54
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate Argent is back and needs Stiles to do some research for her. With no way to escape and his friend's lives on the line, Stiles must complete the research without alerting his friends. Things don't go as smoothly as he'd like when the pack and Kate come face to face in a standoff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Research Duty

Stiles slams against the tree, heart pounding and exhausted from running. Kate Argent pins his hands down at his sides as he made another futile attempt to escape. She smacks his head back, eyes flashing.  
"Gotcha." she smirks. With quick moves, Kate lifts his shirt and clamps something cold onto Stiles' chest, latching it in place as it seals with a click.

"God, can't anyone stay dead? And what the hell is this?!" Stiles shouts, wincing as he pulls his skin up with the device. Clinking her long nail onto the contraption, Kate grins wide, baring her fangs to the teen. 

"This," she begins, "I going to get me what I want."  
"OK, so the usual. Throwing the hunter's code out the window and slaughtering innocent werewolves and humans, cool. Oh, wait, you already do that!" Stiles spits.  
Kate looks bored with the familiar topic, rolling her eyes and continuing. 

"I need someone to do some research for me. You will be gathering and translating information from a number of books that I have traced back to the Hale family and the veterinarian. I would do it myself but using you seems much more fun."  
"And, hypothetically of course, what would I be looking for?" Stiles inquires.  
"You will know in time."  
"What and if I refuse to help you, you kill me?"

"If you refuse I will force you to watch every excruciating moment I take torturing your father within an inch of his life before putting a bullet in his head, in your honor. Then I will do the same to that pretty banshee girl, then to that stupid boy my niece fell in love with, on and on until you do as I say. No one has to die, Stiles. Just write the information in a journal and I will leave." she soothes. 

Stiles' heart is painfully pumping. The whole situation is obviously a trap, whatever she is having him research bringing bigger and badder things than they have ever faced before. He doesn't want to answer so he nods toward the metal form on his chest.  
"What's this thing for then?" he gulps as she glances at him deviously, having waited for the question. 

"This is just some extra collateral so you don't try playing 'hero.' The device is equipped with a radio transmitter and recorder that I will use to listen to every conversation you have. The tracker will tell me precisely where you are at all times so that I can watch you from a safe distance. Those aren't even the fun parts, though. The fun comes around if you at any time attempt to warn your pack about anything that is happening. This means no blabbing, notes, silent messages, signals, or escapes into areas where my connection will be disrupted. Trust me, before anyone can even begin to understand what's happening, I will press this little button right here." she warns, bringing out a small clicker.  
She motions to it with her head, "If I press this button, very large and agonizing waves of electricity will be sent straight from this device for a prolonged period of time. And because I know you so well and know how you'd just love to be a martyr, the device is also equipped to release a concentrated wolfsbane powerful enough to kill at least six alphas within a twenty foot radius. Can you imagine your pathetic pack running running to save you as you scream from the shock waves then every werewolf collapsing, chocking, dying as they breath in the poison?" Kate howls a wicked laugh, throwing her head back at the thought. 

Stiles' head slumps in defeat. He can feel his brain numbing at the drastic turn of events in his life. 

"So do we have an understanding or do I need to go grab my shotgun and pay the sheriff a late night visit? The electric fence is already set." 

The teen hates that he is visibly shaking but nods in submission. "What are your orders." he slurs lifelessly. 

"I will provide you with the list of books tomorrow. How you acquire the books and how you translate them is up to you but there are rules:  
1\. None of your pack is to know any of this so if they question you about anything concerning my research, you are to convince them it is some other trivial thing. As you are aware, werewolves can tell when you lie so either get your heart rate under control or find something that's not a lie to blame it on.  
2\. In the event that I am discovered and your pack attempts to kill me, you are to intervene and defend me no matter what. Beware, rule one still applies. You can't tell them why you are protecting me and you must convince them to back down from snooping into my business. And  
3\. If you fail in the research, break rules 1 or 2, or attempt any type of heroism I mentioned earlier, I press the button. You will stick with me until the research is done then your will go free. Fair?"

Another wearisome nod. "Good." she sings and disappears into the night.

Stiles just sits where he was left, taking in everything she said as it crashes down on him. Stiles' thoughts are clear yet so muddled. He must protect the pack, his family. He has to protect Scott, his best friend, his brother. He has to protect Allison and Lydia and Isaac and De-.... Derek.  
Stiles needs to protect Derek. The alpha would loath him to his core if he discovered he was working for Kate. That crazy bitch took everything from him. Derek does so much to hold onto what he has now and Stiles is putting it in danger. He would lose his mind if he had a relapse of tragedy from the same woman plus the betrayal of a friend. The thought alone twists Stiles' stomach. He couldn't handle Derek's hatred towards him, it'd break his heart. Mind fuzzy and verging a mental breakdown, Stiles knows what he must do. 

oOo

Stiles wakes up with a slip of paper listing titles of books on his desk. The name of whatever he is supposed to be investigation is impossible to even pronounce. Stiles shivers, the thought of the were-jaguar being in his room crossing his mind. Stiles confides in baggy hoodies to loosely hang over him, masking the device on his chest. It's Monday so he brushes off his obvious lack of sleep by blaming his Adderall and heads off to Deaton's with Scott after school. As the veterinarian and his best friend got to work, Stiles quickly nabs the list out of his pocket and heads to the shelf. It takes some time and Stiles is surprised he didn't fall into a panic attack but he managed to rapidly jot down everything the books had to offer, scanning and rescanning the pages as diligently as he can. He slips the journal back in his bag just in time for Scott to finish his shift. 

The walk home is nerve wracking with Scott being so close to the device. Scott notices Stiles' fidgeting and asks him what's wrong.  
"Nothing." Stiles replies a little too fast, mentally slapping himself repeatedly. 

"Come on, Stiles. Super hearing or not, I can tell when you're lying to me." 

Stiles starts muttering nonsense, desperate to think of something that's not a lie. He needs to convince Scott of something or Kate will kill everyone. Unaware like he is supposed to be, Scott pushes a little more. 

"We're brothers, dude. Whatever it is you can trust me. I just wanna help." 

God does Stiles appreciate this but he can't tell him. He needs an excuse. Any excuse. Something he hasn't told anyone.  
"I'm in love with Derek Hale!" he exclaimed. Both boy's eyes go wide, both knowing Stiles' heart didn't miss a beat. He wasn't lying.

Stiles bursts bright red, heart racing and face burning. His quick, labored breaths worry Scott and the wolf moves in to calm the human. When he reaches over, Stiles immediately flinches away, scenarios of Scott brushing against and noticing the device shooting through his mind. Scott's puppy dog face looks hurt and Stiles curses himself for making his friend feel this way. 

"Sorry, man. I'm calming down, I can do this." After a few moments the panic passes enough for Scott to let the words sink in.

"Well... Umm. Yeah, Derek, ok so, love. Yes." 

Stiles chuckles at Scott's stammering and tells him not to worry about it. It's just another classic "Stiles' Unrequited Love" story. The wolf wants to drop the subject but not before asking what he planned on doing about the pack meeting tomorrow.  
The human's heart clenches in his chest. If Stiles went to the meeting, he would be with the entire pack. Kate could take them down all at once and Stiles would be responsible. Stiles would kill everyone, kill Derek without ever confessing. None of them would ever see it coming and everything would just end. How can life really be that fragile? That's not possible. They're all so much stronger than him and he'd kill them. He'd kill them. They would all die. Game over. End of story. Gone forever because of him...

Stiles turns sickly pale about to puke. When Scott instinctively motioned towards him again, Stiles raises his hand to stop his friend. He took a series of deep breaths, combing his hands through his hair roughly until he calmed.  
"I think I'm going to miss the meeting tomorrow. Tell Derek I will stop by later tomorrow night to get the gist of the meeting and to do some reading from the books in his loft for the bestiary."

"Alright. For now I think you need some sleep. Let's get you home before you really do puke." Scott smiles. 

oOo

Stiles arrives at Derek's loft late in the evening. When he walks in, Derek's silently reading on the couch. The usual calming sensation of being close to Derek is shot with the device taunting him but Stiles knew if it came down to it, Derek would be smart and run. The fact that the rest of the pack wasn't here calmed the teen enough to act somewhat normal. Stiles has to hold back his urge to scoff when Derek tells him there has been no supernatural's wreaking havoc yet. When the boy simply nods and walks over to the shelf, Derek's eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. Stiles was barely talking. He always talks.

Stiles walks over to the to shelf and notices a variety of books laid out for him ahead of time. A smile creeps up on his face and he turns saying, "Thanks, Sourwolf." The alpha glares but it has no anger in it and he continues to steal glances at the mole freckled man when he isn't looking. Switching between his own book and Stiles, Derek notices the attempts to hide the journal he's writing in. He isn't sure how to address the sudden shift in Stiles so he keeps things simple. 

"What are you doing?" Stiles jumps at the words but keeps his eyes focused on the book.  
"Just finishing up here." he says scribbling a last few note before shutting everything. 

"Why are you trying to hide that journal?" Derek asks, a bit of concern slipping through.  
"Uhh, it's late so I'm just gonna let myself out." Stiles tries not to rush.

The alpha catches Stiles' hand as the boy scrabbles to the door. They stare at one another. Derek opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out. Instead, he breaks eye contact to gaze down at their hands. His fingers linger on Stiles' and after a long moment Stiles feels a blush rising.  
"Derek?" he whispers.  
The quite sound snaps the wolf out of his daze and he retreats his hand away, heading back to the couch. Stiles' face burns but he can't stop smiling like an idiot.  
"Goodnight, Der." he grins to get a small grunt in response.

oOo

Stiles returns home only to slammed into his bedroom door. Kate is there. "Hello, sweetie. How's my research coming along?"  
Stiles glares and drops his bag to pull the journal out. He pushes the it roughly to her chest and stomps around her to sit on his bed. She flips through the pages with a grin.  
"I will look this over tonight and make sure everything is here. Oh, this is for you." she said, casually tossing a handgun to the teen. "Same wolfsbane as in the device on your chest."

Stiles stares down at the gun, hands sweaty and grip slowly tightening around it with a certain thought rationalizing itself in his head over and over again, screaming for him to just shoot her and figure the rest out later. "Don't bother. The wolfsbane is modified to only effect werewolves, not me." Stiles' mind crashes, shoulders tensing in frustration.

"Why do I need this?"

"I need to stay here until I know the research is complete and you have rule number two to abide by. Your scrawny arms swinging a bat around won't do either of us any good. The wolves haven't found me out but they sense thanks to you they sense something is off. Oh, and that little crush of yours is just precious." she beams.

Stiles' blood rushes to his face in rage. He forgot she heard that part. "Oh don't be like that. If you did your job right I'll be gone by tomorrow night." The teen is almost relieved at the words but he won't relax just yet.

oOo

"Derek sent us a text. He said something suspicious came up and we all have to meet him at a warehouse in 10 minutes." Scott informs. Stiles groans as he files out of the school with everyone else. He has a bad feeling about this.

As they all gradually show up at the warehouse, Stiles keeps a sizable distance between him and the group.

"Stiles, are you alright?" Allison calls and Stiles sends her a quick smile of reassurance. Lydia struts straight up to Stiles and silently takes her place next to him, refusing to let whatever was bothering him pull him away from his pack. The boy shoots her a grin as she nonchalantly examines her nails, pretending like what she was doing wasn't a big deal to him.

"Is this why you brought us here?" Scott asks with his nose turned upward. Derek's expression hardens. "Kate." 

A set of loud claps echo, catching the attention of the pack, as Kate drops down from the other side of the warehouse. "Bingo! I'm flattered you remember me so well, Derek."

"What do you want?" Scott growls.  
"Can't I visit my favorite band of misfit werewolves and their grumpy alpha? Oo, I suppose it is awkward visiting my ex, thought." she feigns innocently. 

The alpha snarls and Kate stares at each of the pack members, stopping on Stiles. Derek notices, following her line of sight, and fury seeps from him. Kate, thoroughly enjoys his reaction, looks Stiles dead in the eyes, motioning her hand into her pocket. The same pocket that held the clicker to activate the device. Stiles recognizes the gesture and panics, immediately sprinting into the no-man's land of the stand off with his hands stretched out. 

"Wait, guys stop." 

Derek turns from angry to confused, staring incredulously at the teen. "Stiles?" Scott calls, eyes full of worry.  
"Look, Scott, I know what this looks like but I need you to just stay back and let her go."

"What? Wait, are you defending her?" Derek barks. Stiles feels his breath hitch. "What the fuck, Stiles. You remember what this monster did to me. To my family." Derek has pain etched into his glare as he looks at him.  
"I can't let you come any closer." Stiles breaths.  
"Stiles, move. Now. You are part of my pack. I am your alpha."  
Kate scoffs at the lack of authority. The pack turn to her, instead.

"Can't get one weak human to follow your orders. How pitiful, Derek. This is how it's done, watch and learn." she laughs. Stiles turns to her with dread. "Stiles, come here."

The pack gapes in horror as Stiles hesitantly glides to her side. She throws her arms around his neck and glances over his shoulder to gaze victoriously at the alpha's broken stance. She turns Stiles around so that he faced the pack but his eyes were eagerly glued to the floor. She grasped both his cheeks with her hand, pinching the both halves of his face together, snickering at his still obedience.  
"Such a cute face, really. Don't you agree, Derek? Maybe I should keep this one."  
Derek roars, barging forward, and Kate moves back to let Stiles interrupt. 

"Derek, just listen to me. This-"  
"Whose side are you on, Stiles?" Derek demands.  
"Yours! Always yours no matter-"  
"Then why are you over there with her?" Derek screams.

"Maybe he's fallen for me too, Der. Ever consider that? When you fell for me, you were willing to do whatever I said, no questions asked." she mocks placing her palm against Stiles' face, pulling his cheek close so she can nuzzle his face. Derek growled viciously at the actions. "You seem a bit too agitated there, Derek. Could it be that you're jealous? Hmm, but jealous of Stiles or of me, I wonder." she taunts, pecking a kiss on Stiles temple. 

There is a clear expression of disgust on Stiles' face and Derek can only glare daggers at Kate, growing more aggressive with every passing moment the two stand together.  
Teeth elongating and claws out, the alpha refuses to stand still any longer. 

"Stiles, get out of my way." Derek orders ready to charge.  
"Fuck." Stiles whines. "Derek, stop." He doesn't. "Derek. Derek! Stop! Listen to me, please!"

"Stiles~" Kate chimes.

Stiles didn't want things to come to this. Goodbye to Derek ever loving him. Goodbye to the relationship they were building, soft secret smiles exchanged, and playful bantering.  
Hello, deep hatred and betrayal. Stiles pulls out the handgun he kept hidden behind his back and under his hoodie. 

"Derek, I said STOP." pointing the gun straight at the alpha. Derek freezes instantly. Stiles stands, stunning the entire pack as they witness the ordeal.

"Stiles? Is that wolfsbane? Wh- what the hell. What's going on?" Derek stresses.  
"I can't tell you." he whispers knowing the werewolf can hear him.  
"Don't give me that bullshit! I deserve an explanation!"  
"Derek, don't. I'm on your side I swear. Believe me. Please, Derek I can't-"  
"Believe you? I trusted you! Now look where we are. You're pointing a gun full of wolfsbane bullets right at me. Stiles, talk to me! You love talking. It's what you do best. You're just gonna turn your back on the people you lov-"

"DEREK! ...Just stop. Please..." A crackled sob escapes Stiles' lips. A hopelessness crosses Derek's eyes before he returns to his fowl glare, shutting off any emotion he may feel.

Stiles hates this so freaking much. He wants to drop the gun and cry but he can't. If he does, then he loses his friends and the man he loves. He practically has already based on their faces of betrayal but at least they will be alive and not dead from his stupid selfishness. He takes in a shaky breath.

"Kate, what's going on?" Stiles chokes out still holding the gun up at his alpha.  
"I came to congratulate you. You completed the research I needed thank you very much."  
A flash of realization and a deeper deception settles on Derek's face. Scott looks like someone just punched him in the gut, disbelief filling his eyes. "Alright, good. A deal's a deal so-"  
Kate launches herself forward, jamming a small dagger into Stiles' backside. He cries out, nearly collapsing. She catches him from behind, holstering the gun in his hand to stay aimed at Derek who is now roaring in full alpha mode, ready to rip her to shreds for hurting Stiles.

Kate narrows her eyes at Derek as she twists the knife in Stiles roughly, sending a message to the battle-ready pack to stay where they are. The tiny whimper from the teen grounded Derek in place, violently shaking in outrage. At this point, Kate takes the gun from Stiles and drops him with a thud as he clutches the stab wound and tries applying as much pressure as he can manage. Wolfsbane bullets pointed straight at the alpha's head, Kate pulls the clicker out of her pocket. 

"No. Nonono." Stiles gasps. "Don't hurt them, Kate. We had a deal!" Stiles screeches. She looks down at the boy desperately holding his side. Kate grins a vile smile, twiddling her fingers farewell to him as she presses the button. "NO!"

A massive surge of electricity began tearing through Stiles' body as he curled in on himself, grasping for anything as he sprawls in misery on the floor. Kate promptly got on with her escape as Stiles scratched at the device under his clothes.

"STILES!!" he hears over his own cries and the buzzing of electricity deafening his ear. It was just like Kate said. They were running directly to him. The hiss of gas being released pierces Stiles' ears as purple smoke pours from his hoodie. The electricity wasn't letting up.

"S-STOP! STA-AY AWAY IT'S WOLFSBANE!" he shrieks through clenched teeth. Stiles tried his hardest to keep his eyes opens, pleading his emotions could be relayed through them to the pack. The waves of high voltage kept coming through making his heart beat sporadically and he couldn't breath without panting desperately for air. Orders and shouts were going back and forth between the pack over Stiles' poorly muffled screams. When he felt hands grab and flip him on his back, guilt washed over him. Stiles snatched snatched his flailing arms away crying "Y-you'll DIE!" but he was losing consciousness fast. The hands once again held him down and got to work. After what felt like hours later, the electricity stopped so Stiles fell into darkness. 

oOo

Stiles woke with the gentle lighting of dawn making it easier for him to open his eyes. He feels particularly sore in his abdomen but the rest of his body aching quickly pulled his attention away. His skin is raw like someone had scrubbed his body for hours but the warm hand holding his was rough and strong. Stiles knows exactly whose hand it is.

He turns his head to see Derek seated in a chair directly beside the bed's edge. The alpha was staring at him, watching over him as he slept. From the bags under the wolf's eyes and the crease of a worried expression etched into his forehead, Stiles could tell Derek hasn't slept a wink since he's been unconscious. At the thought, memories of the confrontation flooded in and Stiles quickly sits up, groaning in pain at the pull of his muscles and gripping for dear life onto Derek's arm. Derek rose to meet his sudden leap, placing both hands on either shoulder to ease him but Stiles snaps his face to meet the wolf's. 

"Did I hurt anybody?" he begs, knuckles whitening and face flushed with despair. Derek smiles gently, laying Stiles back into the pillow.  
"Everyone is fine, thanks to you." he assures, brushing his fingers through the teen's hair.

Stiles releases a giant breath as he collapses in on himself. He has been holding everything in for the last few days and the emotions overwhelm him. Tears flow down his cheeks as he whispers "thank God"'s and "I was so worried."

"Once that thing on your chest was activated, Allison and Lydia took to shutting it off while the rest of us hunted Kate down. We got her. She's not coming back this time."  
Another round of tears rolled down to stain his face at the good news. "We found her recordings and heard everything. We know she didn't give you a way out and that everything you've done was to protect us."  
Stiles sniffs and smiles but then realization slaps him over the head.

"W-w-w-wait wait wait. You listened to the recordings yourself? All of it? Or h-how much did hear exactly?" Stiles stutters.  
Derek's smile was blinding and Stiles feels a blush creeping up his neck along with anxiety and a bit of hope.

Hearing his rapid heart rate, Derek leans in and plants a kiss on Stiles' lips. The motion instantly calmed his heart but the blush rises completely over his face and to the tips of his ears. Derek pulls back, chuckling at the pinkness of Stiles' face oh no the chuckle is way too cute for Stiles to handle right then. His head starts spinning. Distraction. He needs a distraction. 

"Mind explaining why my skin feels like it went through a carwash of steel wool?" Stiles smirks. He loves the tenderness of touch Derek uses as the wolf ghosts his fingers over Stiles' hand before intertwining their fingers together in a perfect fit. 

"If Allison and Lydia hadn't scrubbed off the wolfsbane residue embedded into your skin, then I wouldn't be able to do this." He nods to their hands. His eyes focus on the back of the pale hand as his thumb presses and glides over it repeatedly. "And I probably wouldn't have- sorta been able to calm down until I could physically feel that you were going to live. That I still had a shot to be with you. If you wanted." He adds quickly.

Derek tries to stop the blush rising and Stiles is bursting at the seams with euphoria. He leaps forwards, too happy to feel the pain, and kisses Derek with all the passion he holds for the werewolf. Derek leans into it with just as much passion but the kiss doesn't last long with Stiles' injuries shortening his breath as it is. They break, touching foreheads and huffing laughs. Stiles plops down into his pillow, content, but worry crosses him when Derek slowly looks away to hide his face in their conjoined hands. 

"Der? What's wrong?" Stiles asks softly, sitting up. Stiles lifts Derek's face with his free hand so they make eye contact and he can see the raw emotions of fear and sadness engraved into his irises. 

"I'm so sorry Stiles... I'm sorry I didn't believe you. You were trying so hard to protect us and I was yelling at you like you were the bad guy. You looked so hurt, too, and I never wanted to be the reason for you to make that kind of expression. She forced you into something you couldn't tell us about, threatened everyone you loved, put her hands all over you, then she stabbed and electrocuted you. The werewolves couldn't stop me from tearing her apart if they wanted to but they chose to help me instead. Everyone was worried about you. We're all grateful. I'm just sorry I was stupid enough to think you betrayed us. I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Derek begs, hiding in their hands again.

Stiles' expression melts, no longer able to hold back his fondness. Derek's worst fears strike him for a moment when Stiles unwinds their conjoined fingers but he is enveloped in a hug that wipes away the thoughts. Long fingers comb through black hair while the other hand rubs circles on the alpha's back. 

"I love you, Derek. I'll always protect you no matter what. Now you know for sure, that's all." Stiles snorts. Derek embraces the teen, mindful of his injuries, and digs his nose into the crook of his neck before inhaling. 

"I thought you were going to die.." Derek chokes. "I was so scared. I love you, Stiles. I love you so much. I thought I was never gonna get to tell you and that my last words were going to be me screaming at you. I can't get that look in your eyes out of my head. I promise to never, ever do that again so please, PLEASE don't ever scare me like that again." 

"I'll try my best. Now come lay down with me, Sourwolf." Stiles cheers, half dragging the wolf into the bed. Derek rolls his eyes, heaving a content breath, and kicks off his shoes to crawl around Stiles in a protective manner. Stiles urgently closes the space between them and sighs happily at Derek's warmth. Derek wraps his arms around Stiles and silently promises to guard him forever, laying a kiss on his head as they both drift off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone. Just another Sterek fic. I like how this one turned out. Hopefully I'm getting better at all of this because I love storytelling and it's even better when people actually like what I have to say. Hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you for reading!
> 
> P.S. I'm sorry if there are any mistake. I'm trying.


End file.
